NIT Game #4: #1 Gophers vs. #1 Florida State at MSG [ESPN2, Tues @ 8:00PM]

[cjbfbp]

Something to chew on as you listen to/watch/read the Twin Cities media mock and ridicule the Gophers for playing in the NIT today. The last four NIT Champions: Dayton, Wichita State, Stanford and Baylor. How are those programs perceived right now?

Well, if the Gophers win the title, I'll take that as a cue for an optimistic vision of the future. The subsequent history of the last three runners up: Alabama, Gophers, and Iowa, hasn't been quite as illustrious.

In a way I'm just glad I got to see a game like last night's from this team. As ramshackle as that game was, it was also inspiring to see a team with so many holes and running on fumes pull out an overtime victory.

 

[Unregistered User]

Saw this guy in my back yard this morning. I'm calling in sick...no way I'm leaving the house:

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/05Lz3Sf.jpg" width="25%" height="25%">

 

[march madness]

Happy gopher fan

Can you imagine being a florida st. fan and having a good inside scorer like White, and some 7' behomeths that can score and not getting them the ball inside against a team playing a 6-8 220 lb center? I am not sure they have a pg, 6 assists to 18 to.

In a way I'm just glad I got to see a game like last night's from this team. As ramshackle as that game was, it was also inspiring to see a team with so many holes and running on fumes pull out an overtime victory.

 

[cjbfbp]

Can you imagine being a florida st. fan and having a good inside scorer like White, and some 7' behomeths that can score and not getting them the ball inside against a team playing a 6-8 220 lb center? I am not sure they have a pg, 6 assists to 18 to.

Yeah, that assist to turnover ratio is stunningly bad. I thought the same thing last night: some of their guys look seven inches taller than our defenders and they don't get them the ball nearly enough. Most of both teams' fans had to be anticipating the Gopher collapse through much of the second half but FLA ST could never exploit their advantages fully enough and the Gopher defense kept on going and going like the Energizer bunny.

 

[cjbfbp]

Saw this guy in my back yard this morning. I'm calling in sick...no way I'm leaving the house:

<img src="http://i.imgur.com/05Lz3Sf.jpg" width="25%" height="25%">

I think you are OK. He looks more like a survivalist than a criminal.

 

[Moonlight]

Before we dry our eyes over the gophers heroic victory over FSU last night, I think it's worth mentioning that there may be no team in college ball that looks more like a basketball team and plays less like one than FSU. I saw FSU at Williams in December and I had that impression and it was reconfirmed last night. They are huge, fast, athletic and, outside of Millar, completely disinterested. They stand around, don't move the ball, can't shoot and play intermittent defense. They should have won by 25 last night because it's not as if the gophers played well outside of the first five minutes. I don't know how or why Leonard Hamilton has a job. A really bad team.

Yes, there's definitely something wrong with this team. Lacking our starting center, lacking a real power forward, I just couldn't imagine how we could win - and I certainly didn't imagine a game like the one that happened. Match up problems that should have doomed the team. How DID we win? Perhaps we can say that the gophers were a little like CC Sabathia used to be - effectively wild.

 

[march madness]

In some sense, this is how Louisville, Florida, and VCU win ugly. Sometimes they win in total domination and it's pretty but when they play a good team they "muck" it up. A win is a win though.